Content creators and influencers in the US are now increasingly applying for O-1 work visas. Astoundingly, the number of O-1 visas granted each year increased by 50% between 2014 and 2024, as noted by recent reporting in the Financial Times.
These visas allow non-immigrants to work temporarily in the US. The O-1 category includes the O-1A, which is designated for individuals with extraordinary ability in the sciences, education, business or athletics and the O-1B, reserved for those with “extraordinary ability or achievement”.
The Guardian spoke with some influencers who have had success in obtaining or are still trying to obtain the coveted O-1 visa and talked about what was involved in their process.
Influencers are filling a large gap in the [world’s] retail and commercial interests ... immigration has to keep up Michael Wildes
Julia Ain decided to post some videos of herself on social media at the height of the Covid-19 lockdown, when she was a student at McGill University.
“I was bored during the pandemic – like everyone else – and started posting on TikTok,” she told the Guardian. “I started livestreaming, and I grew a fanbase kind of quickly.”
Five years later, the 25-year-old Canadian content creator now has 1.3 million followers combined across various social media platforms. Her influencer success led her to an O-1 visa.
“It became really obvious that you could make a lot of money doing this in a short period of time,” she said. “It felt like a very time-sensitive thing. Nobody knows how long this is going to last for.”
Ain posts photos and videos across Instagram, TikTok, X and Snapchat, sometimes in collaboration with other creators. Of her brand, she says: “My whole thing is being the funny Jewish girl with big boobs.” The majority of Ain’s income is from Fanfix, a safe-for-work subscription based platform for influencers to monetize their content. She first applied for the O-1B Visa after launching on the platform in August 2023, and the company ended up sponsoring her application. She now says she makes five figures per month on the platform.
Luca Mornet also began making content during the pandemic while he was a student at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York. Mornet, who is from France, realized soon that his F-1 student visa was holding him back from making money as an influencer.
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